Elsdale Street and Mead Place

After considering traffic and air quality data, alongside responses provided by residents to this Commonplace page, the Council has made a decision to make the Elsdale Street and Mead Place traffic filters permanent. See hackney.gov.uk/elsdale-mead-ltn for the full decision report, including the engagement report which includes the results from this Commonplace page.

We will continue to monitor the effects of the filters and listen to feedback about the scheme. You can email comments to: streetscene.enquiries@hackney.gov.uk.

We are committed in our Transport Strategy to make Hackney’s roads safer for everyone living, working and visiting the borough. We aim to create an environment that will encourage more walking and cycling, improve air quality and reduce emissions. For further background to these measures, see the About the project page. To find out more about how we're maintaining access to properties, why we're acting so quickly and more, visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.

In 2018, the Council installed a number of closures in the Darnley Road area to address the high levels of non-local through-traffic travelling through this area. Since these closures were implemented, we have continued to monitor traffic levels in and around the area. We are aware that a number of roads within the area have seen an increase in traffic levels since the implementation of the closures.

As a result of this, we have introduced two additional traffic filters - a type of road closures, where planters or bollards on the road prevent motor vehicles from passing through - to complement existing closures. These have been introduced at the following locations (see the map below):

These closures are camera enforced and exemptions have been made for emergency vehicles, refuse vehicles and cycles.

All of the filters mentioned above encourage walking and cycling, promote social distancing and reduce non-local through-traffic on these streets.

If you are a resident or business in the area and you have a motor vehicle, you are still able to drive to your home or business, but this may be via a different route.

We introduced these measures from 3 December, using solid planters on either side of the roads to reduce the carriageway width, but allowing enough space for cyclists and emergency and refuse vehicles to go through. Signs and road markings make it clear that regular vehicles cannot pass through. The filters are enforced by cameras in order to deter vehicles driving through. Implementation was expected to take up to two weeks.

Like any scheme, we would expect that each scheme takes a couple of weeks to settle in before the full benefits to walking, cycling and traffic are seen.

The filters were being introduced using an experimental traffic order for a maximum period of 18 months, which means you can see how the filters work in practice before having your say.

The views of residents and businesses, including any suggested changes to how schemes operate, will be taken into account before any decision on whether or not to make the measures permanent. This process is in line with specific guidance from Transport for London, and the Department for Transport, which states that: 'authorities should monitor and evaluate any temporary measures they install, with a view to making them permanent, and embedding a long-term shift to active travel as we move from restart to recovery’.

The experimental traffic order will be advertised in the London Gazette and the Hackney Gazette on 26 November 2020.

The initial engagement period on this scheme ran until 3 June 2021, however we are extending this until 31 March 2022 to allow as many people as possible to have their say.

To have your say, please complete the survey below or email streetscene.consultations@hackney.gov.uk. You can also write to us by sending your comments to ‘Freepost Streetscene’.